Louis Vuitton Curated Shelf

The relationship between art and fashion is a subject that never ceases to fascinate me. You’ve been the brunt of many a ramble about it, you poor things, but I’ll keep this short and sweet I promise. Last Wednesday night was one of extreme contrasts. We finished our eve – or perhaps begun it, if you count the lengthy late night dinner and drinks at Soho House that seemed like a fantastic idea afterwards – with the launch of House of Holland’s collaboration with Magnum Ice cream, a noisy, crowded, celeb tastic bash at Portman Place. The soirée with which we kicked things off was an an infinitely more sophisticated affair, namely the launch of Louis Vuitton’s latest ‘Curated Shelf’ with Tania Kovats.

I don’t need to tell you how I feel about Louis Vuitton. I wildly coveted every collection Marc Jacobs designed for the maison and having almost fainted over the perfection of Nicholas Ghesquire’s debut, it’s safe to say my obsession won’t be waning anytime soon. But beyond the shows, the clothes and les accessoires, one of the things I find most captivating about Louis V is it’s unwavering commitment to supporting the arts. Obviously you’re all familiar with their accessory collaborations, from the now ubiquitous Stephen Sprouse scarves and Yayoi Kusama polkadot bags to the Foulard’s d’Artistes project I got my style on with last year. They don’t just throw cash at an artiste to slap their work on an item of clothing, Louis Vuitton enters into long running collaborations, fusing the aesthetics, values and techniques of both parties to result in products that inevitably become iconic. But beyond partnerships that produce sure fire fashion “it” pieces, Vuitton also endlessly supports the projects of contemporary artists they feel an affinity with. Case in point, Tania Kovats, the latest to participate in their Curated Shelf series. The series has seen a number of top contemporary artists, ranging from Rankin to Tracy Emin, invited to curate a selection of tomes in the librarie at Louis Vuitton’s Bond Street Maison. Besides commissioning Kovats to take part in the ongoing project Vuitton also supported her ‘Oceans’ exhibition which features the fruits of a two year journey around the world (with her own custom made Louis V case, natch) to water samples from 94 different seas. This is a fascinating project and a fascinating insight into a brand that clearly doesn’t just enter into artist collaborations with a view to make a few bucks.

The unveiling of Tania Kovat’s curated shelf was, of course, an elegant event involving the finest champagne, a charming talk from the artist and the opportunity to browse the store after hours… Although admittedly that wasn’t specified on the invitation. Thank you Louis Vuitton for an inspiring start to an evening which swiftly went down a rather different route. You’ll hear all about that soon.

Love Ella. X

Images by Charlie Wheeler

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[…] up where we left off in the tale of last Thursday evening, having been culture vultures at the Louis Vuitton Curated Shelf: Tania Kovats soirée, Nik, Tyler, Millie and I piled into his car and headed across town for a very different […]